The Cat Kept In
by Key of Magic
Summary: When Adrien gets back from being one of Paris's greatest superheroes, his father gets angry at him and locks him in his room. Adrien knows that he can escape at any time using his cat claws, but he doesn't want his father to know who he really is. But what are his friends, and worse, Ladybug, going to think?
1. Chapter 1

_**Adrien/Chat Noir**_

Chat Noir swung through the window, chuckling to himself as he thought about his latest adventure. He and Ladybug had to defeat an akuma-nized villain called Master Chef, who kept encasing the town in food. As Chat Noir said to Ladybug, causing her to roll her eyes, "It was a yummy situation."

As he transformed back into Adrien Agreste (though no one knew that), his kwami, Plagg, through himself onto Adrien's bed and groaned. "Food," he murmured. "I need food."

"Didn't you have enough while fighting Master Chef?" Adrien asked, walking over to get Plagg some of his favourite cheese, then throwing it at his kwami.

"No," Plagg answered. "You can never have enough food."

Adrien sat down on his bed and sighed. "What is it?" Plagg asked.

"I still don't think Ladybug loves me," he replied. "I've got to do something, Plagg, I can't take this anymore!"

"Maybe write her another poem?" Plagg suggested.

Adrien shook his head. "That led into someone turning into Dark Cupid, remember? Besides, I don't think a poem's enough…"

"Then are you going to tell her how you feel?"

"Hmm… maybe show her…"

Plagg looked up from eating his cheese. "What do you mean?"

"I'll have to think about it… you'll see…"

Just then, the door banged open, admitting Adrien's father, Mr. Agreste. Plagg shrieked and dived under a pillow, but luckily, Mr. Agreste didn't notice.

"Adrien!" he barked. "Where were you?"

"I… I was here, Father," Adrien replied shakily.

"I'm not going to believe that," his father hissed. "I just came up here ten minutes ago and it was completely empty!"

"Well… fine, to tell you the truth…" Adrien knew he was lying, but he had to think of something to cover up his superhero status. "I was at a friend's house, working on a project."

Mr. Agreste narrowed his eyes. "And why didn't you tell me this before, Adrien?"

"Because… because it was urgent, I had to leave right away… our, um, model volcano for science exploded…"

"Well, you disobeyed me," Mr. Agreste growled. "No matter what, I want you to tell me where you're going! In fact, you're grounded. You aren't to leave this room again."

"What? Father, no, I -"

"Stop protesting, Adrien, it isn't going to do anything." And with that, his father closed the door and locked it.

Adrien ran up to it and banged his fist, yelling, "Let me out! How am I going to go to school?"

"You're not," replied Mr. Agreste's voice.

A chill ran through Adrien and he stopped punching the door, sinking to the floor with his back to it instead. "School is always my escape from this place," Adrien murmured. "What am I going to do now?"

"Well, your father obviously can't stop you from being Chat Noir," said Plagg, climbing out from under the pillow. "Just power up and use your claws to rip through the walls or the window -"

"I can't do that," Adrien replied, though he knew it was the only way to get out of his room. "If my father comes in, and he sees that, he's not going to know what to think… he might even suspect who I really am."

Plagg looked sadly at his friend. "Well, then, it's just you and me… and the cheese, of course."

Adrien nodded sadly, watching his kwami nibble at more food, and thinking of his friends at school… Nino, Chloe (though he wouldn't really miss her) even Marinette… What was he going to do without them?

Then he thought of Ladybug. Poor Ladybug would be all alone, forced to defeat villains all by herself… would she even be able to do it without faithful Chat Noir? And worst of all, she would think that he ditched her, and she would never believe that he loved her…

Adrien thought that his life had officially fallen apart.

 **Hi, everyone! I know that I haven't posted in a while, but that was because I was writing a story for my friend and then I took a little break… and during that break, I started this new show, "Miraculous Ladybug", and now I'm totally addicted, so I decided to try a fanfic. I've always wondered what would happen if Mr. Agreste noticed that his son was gone, off being Cat Noir… and the idea for this story just came to me. So, I hope you enjoy!**

 **P.S. This was a short chapter, but they should get longer.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Marinette/Ladybug**_

The school bell rang, indicating the start of class. Marinette closed her locker door and started toward her classroom, until her best friend Alya caught up and they started walking together.

"So, any new updates on your love life with Adrien?" Alya pressed, grinning at her friend.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Don't you think I'd tell you right away, Alya? Besides, I don't think I've got a chance."

Alya put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Don't say that, Marinette. Adrien just needs some… time to notice you. And you've got to put a plan into action!"

"My plans never work."

"Or maybe," said Alya, grinning, "You just haven't tried hard enough."

Marinette and Alya walked into class, taking their usual seats behind Adrien and his best friend, Nino. But today, Nino was sitting all alone.

"Hey," Alya whispered to him. "Where's Adrien?"

"I don't know," Nino replied, shrugging. "He didn't tell me. Probably sick."

"Or maybe his father's making him model for something," Marinette suggested.

"Yeah, could be. His father's pretty pushy."

"Alright, class!" said the teacher, her curls bobbing up and down as she spoke. "Today we're continuing to analyze our reading assessments…"

And so, the day went on, and Marinette felt quite lonely… she missed her crush, though it wasn't like they hung out or anything. But still, school didn't seem as worthwhile without Adrien…

She told this to Alya during lunchtime. "Well, look on the bright side," her best friend replied. "At least you've got time to plan out your date with him!"

"Yeah, but… wait, my what?" Marinette squeaked, stopping mid-bite of her food.

"Come on, we're going to make you notice him…"

Marinette managed a small smile. This cheered her up a bit. She still had Alya, after all…

When the day was over, and Marinette waved goodbye to her friend (they were planning to meet after school) she started to walk toward the bakery that was home. The streets of Paris were calm and quiet that day, and a light breeze wafted through the air. Marinette raised her head and closed her eyes, taking it in.

But suddenly she heard cackling and her eyes snapped open. There, right in front of her, stood a huge, burly, and extremely hairy man - he grinned evilly at her, revealing yellow teeth.

Marinette shrieked and took a step back, but she suspected what this man was… another akumanized villain, no doubt. She just had to get out of his line of sight so that she could transform into Ladybug.

"Who are you?" Marinette asked, looking up at the man.

"I," shouted the man, "am Heavy Metal, the strongest man in Paris! And I will crush you!"

He reached out his beefy hands so as to grasp Marinette, but she leaped out of the way and down a side path. She could hear Heavy Metal let out a bark of rage and start lumbering after her, but she quickly turned into an alleyway and opened her purse where she always kept her kwami.

"Kiki, spots on!" she yelled, and with a flash of red light, she transformed. She stepped out of the alleyway, stronger now, and faced the giant man.

To her surprise, he bellowed with laughter. "Do you really think a meager ladybug can kill me? No! I can step on you!" And he lifted his giant foot, but Ladybug got out of the way.

"You may be stronger than me," she shouted, "but you aren't fast enough!"

"Wise words, little bug," Heavy Metal replied. "But they won't do you any good!"

And he started to chase her down the street, making Ladybug wonder where Paris's other defender, Chat Noir, could be. Maybe he didn't know Heavy Metal was in town yet? But the giant man sure was making a lot of noise; there were people in shops and side cafes who were screaming and taking cover. It just wasn't like Cat Noir to be late for a fight.

As Ladybug dodged to the side as Heavy Metal aimed another punch at her, she decided that she'd just have to defend Paris all by herself - if she could.

Getting an idea, she leaped up onto a building so that she was above Heavy Metal. He looked around stupidly, trying to find her, until she yelled, "Hey, big guy! Over here!"

Heavy Metal turned and growled when he saw Ladybug. Taking advantage of his turned head, she jumped down and landed on his face - he yelled and tried to rip her off, but her grasp was too tight. She soon had swung herself around so that she was hanging off of his neck.

Now what? She thought desperately, doubting that her slim fingers could strangle the giant man. She looked around for the place where the akuma could be hidden, and noticed the gleaming earring that the man wore. That must be it, she decided, but before she could reach for it she was knocked off Heavy Metal's back.

As she lay on the ground, dazed, and the akumanized villain stood over her, she thought of how Chat Noir could be helping her, then pushed that out of her mind. She'd think it through over later, there was only one thing left to do - use her special power.

"Lucky charm!" she yelled, and spun her lasso in the air, causing the air to sparkle and something to drop down into her hands. It was a wrench.

"A wrench?" she murmured. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Just then, Heavy Metal tried to land another blow, but she managed to get away, although he did catch her ankle - she felt it twist and held back a scream. She just couldn't focus on that now, however; there were things to do.

And then her Ladybug vision allowed her to see it - the fire hydrant on the end of the street… if she could just pry it open with the wrench, and drench Heavy Metal in water, she doubted that he would like that…

Half-limping, Ladybug ran down the street towards the fire hydrant, and the giant man chased after her, but she reached it in time. Attaching the wrench to the screw at the top, she twisted… twisted… she could hear Heavy Metal come up behind her… and then BOOM, the hydrant exploded, encasing the street in water and - most importantly - drenching Heavy Metal in water as Ladybug used the last of her energy to leap to the side.

He bellowed but got a mouthful of water; was knocked off his feet and was soon flailing in a puddle. Ladybug quietly approached him and removed his earring, which she trapped inside the end of her lasso. "No more evil doing for you, little akuma," she murmured, then watched the little white butterfly fly away. "Bye-bye."

At that moment, her ankle seared with pain, so she made her escape - back towards her parents' bakery, where she had been heading to in the first place.

And all along, wondering where Chat Noir had been.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Adrien/Chat Noir**_

Adrien paced up and down the room, regret bubbling in his stomach. He had heard the crashes and bangs from outside, probably from another humanized villain, probably one that Ladybug would have to face all by herself.

He wondered if she had done it, but the sounds had stopped - the city of Paris was once again at peace. And Chat Noir hadn't helped one bit.  
People would probably stop depending on him, and worst of all, Ladybug. If his father did ever let him go, and he returned to her, she'd simply shrug him off and say, "You weren't there when I needed you."

But it would be too hard for Adrien to explain… saying that his father didn't let him leave his room sounded extremely childish, even though it was the truth.

This made Adrien extremely angry. Him, Chat Noir, one of Paris's only superheroes, was getting pushed around by his own father, whom of which he could probably take down in a second. But still, even when Adrien was Chat Noir, that aura seemed to glow around Mr. Agreste… that aura of undeniable power and riches.

But he couldn't just sit there… he couldn't bear for Ladybug, the love of his life, to give him that cold shoulder. Maybe he should just escape with cataclysm. Maybe it was worth the risk.

"Plagg," he said, turning to his kwami who was currently eating again, "Let's power up."

"What?" Plagg asked, gulping down a bit of cheese. "But I thought that you -"

"Things have changed," Adrien replied. He sighed. "I just can't have Ladybug lose faith in me, she's too important…"

Plagg floated up to his face and laughed. "Alright, Prince Charming. Or should I say, Chat-ming?"

Adrien blinked. "That wasn't so good, Plagg."

"Says the king of puns."

And with that, and a flash of green light, Chat Noir now stood in the room, feeling stronger and more free than ever. He immediately raised his claw and yelled, "Cataclysm!"

Then he ripped through the window, climbed out of it, and disappeared down the side of the building to find Ladybug so that he could explain… something.

There were two issues, however: 1: Chat Noir didn't know where Ladybug was, and 2: he didn't know what to tell her about him not showing up to fight the villain.

Well, he thought, Let's figure out the first issue first. Haha, logical.

There was another major problem with this, though - Ladybug had probably transformed back into whoever she was by now. If only he knew! Then he'd be able to locate her rather than running through down on the tops of buildings, looking down at every girl that could possibly be Ladybug…

Maybe he could get her attention some how. Like reflect a signal in the sky… call it the Cat Signal… he felt like he heard something like that before, but it didn't matter: he had just found a skylight at the top of Gourmet, a fancy French restaurant.

The sky was darkening, but not quickly enough, so Cat Noir used the time to find something to make his signal. He looked out over the side of the restaurant, locating a trash bin that held old food, broken plates, signs, and luckily cardboard.

Chuckling to himself, Chat Noir leaped down into the trash bin, then realized that was a bad idea - PLOP! he landed amidst the old food, making his costume all dirty. But the cardboard was directly in front of him, so he reached out and grabbed it.

He climbed back up the wall, with a lot of grumbling because of the new grease stains on the tight, black leather, then opened his claws, using them to rip up the cardboard into the shape of a cat. Adrien had never been so good at art, so his cat's head looked a little lopsided, but he thought that it would do.

The sky was now dark enough to turn on the skylight, so that's what he did - it shone over Paris as if someone had turned on a giant flashlight. Sticking the cardboard in front of the light, so that a giant kitty reflected in the sky, Chat Noir hoped that this would work.

He sat there for a couple of moments, watching as the first stars of the night started to shine, and wondered if Ladybug could see the signal, let alone want to come. "She's probably mad at me," he whispered to himself sadly.

But just as he was about to give up hope, there was a flash of red light and then Ladybug was climbing over buildings, stopping when she reached him.

He got up, smiling widely; his plan had worked. "Bugaboo!" he greeted excitedly.

She rolled her eyes. "What is it, Chat Noir? Where were you?"

Chat Noir scratched his head nervously - this came the part that he hadn't thought of in advance, and now he was truly at a loss for words. "Well… there was um… something going on in my family."

He stared at Ladybug, hoping this was a good answer.

She just nodded. "Oh, well… it would have been nice to have you."

Something fluttered in Cat Noir's chest. "I'm really sorry, my lady, but -"

"No, no, it's okay," she replied, and gave him a small smile. "I understand."

Chat Noir returned the grin, realizing that maybe Ladybug had faced similar situations as him, that she was just a normal teenager under the costume, too.

"Are… are you okay?" he asked. "Did the monster hurt you?"

"Well, it twisted my ankle," Ladybug murmured.

Chat Noir's heart missed a beat. "Oh, no, I'm so -"

"It's fine," she answered. "Really. We're superheroes, we're bound to get hurt, right?"

"But if I was there to help -"

"Well, you weren't, alright?"

There was an awkward silence of when Chat Noir tried to control his breathing.

"I won't let you down again," he promised.

Ladybug smiled again, making his heart leap. "Cool signal, by the way," she said. "I should have one, too."

Chat Noir shrugged, happy that things were normal between them again. "It's not that great. Just dug some cardboard out of the garbage."

Ladybug laughed. "I would have liked to see that."

There was another moment of silence, and Chat Noir knew that he should probably return home, knowing that his father would most likely suspect him again, but there was something special about this night; the Eiffel Tower framed against the stars that seemed to smile down at him and Ladybug, the quiet, peaceful drone of music from the restaurant underneath, and the cool night breeze that floated through the air.

It was almost as if he was on a date with Ladybug.

"It's a nice night tonight, isn't it?" Ladybug asked, seeming to read his mind and looking up at the stars.

"Yeah," Chat Noir replied. He had the guts to say, "wanna stay out for a little while?"

Ladybug smiled. "Okay."

And so they sat down on the edge of the building, looking down at the city, and Chat Noir's heart couldn't stop beating - this was exactly what he had been wishing for.

 **Hey, sorry I haven't been posting, but I've got another life under my costume, too. *winks***


	4. Chapter 4

_**Marinette/Ladybug**_

Ladybug had to admit, she was glad that Chat Noir was back, although she wasn't happy that he had ditched her in the first place; it had caused her a painful injury (of which was currently bandaged up now) and she had started to get used to the techniques that she and Cat Noir had developed while fighting together.

However, she also had to agree that it was a beautiful night, and that sitting on the top of a Paris building watching the stars was quite entrancing. This was one of the more peaceful perks of being Ladybug - when she was not fighting crazy villains, she was enjoying her powers and seeing Paris from a whole new view.

But she also knew that she would have to turn back soon; she could feel her earring vibrate as it indicated low battery. And she guessed the same for Chat Noir.

"Look, I've got to go," she said to him, standing up and pulling out her yo-yo from around her waist. "I'm going to change back soon."

"Me, too," Chat Noir added, looking at his ring. "Well, it's been really nice, my lady. See you around!"

"And next time," Ladybug told him with a firm look in her dark blue eyes, "Show up."

"I would never let you or Paris down again," Chat Noir assured, and with that, he disappeared.

Ladybug turned in the other direction, not able to stop herself from wondering where Chat Noir was heading. Of course, she was curious about who he was, too, but she knew that she should stay true to her kwami's words about not learning his secret, and keeping hers as well.

She had just reached her room by the time she turned back - there was a small flash of light and then she was Marinette again, plunking herself down on her bed and sighing. Tikki fluttered upwards and over to a tray of cookies, from the bakery down below, that was sitting on Marinette's desk and began to munch away.

"Well, what did you think of that, Tikki?" Marinette asked. "I guess Cat Noir really hasn't disappeared."

Tikki nodded. "You know, Marinette, I really think he likes you."

Marinette blushed and looked away. "Maybe… but you know that my heart belongs to someone else…" She looked up at the many pictures of Adrien collaging her computer's lockscreen and smiled.

"Yes, yes, Adrien," Tikki replied, giggling to herself.

"Well, I should get some sleep," Marinette murmured, burrowing herself into her blankets and yawning. "There will probably be some other crazy akumanized villain tomorrow…"

* * *

The next day at school, Adrien wasn't there yet again; Marinette pouted to Alya, who still had a positive air about it all. "Come on, girl," she said, "this gives us lots of time! Ooh, you know, if he's sick, then you could visit him and give him a get-well card -"

"Are you crazy?" Marinette screamed, her eyes widening in surprise. "I would never do that!"

Alya just snickered.

So, the day was once again lonely; nothing seemed to motivate Marinette, to get her hopes up, not even Alya's many ideas of how to get Adrien to notice her.

When she went home that night, her mother greeted her as she stepped into the sweet-smelling bakery, sweeping the floor. "Hello, Marinette," she greeted. "How was school?"

"Fine," Marinette grumbled, then went upstairs before plopping herself down on her bed, just like she had done the previous night.

"I wonder where he is, Tikki," she said as her kwami floated out of her post and sat down on the headboard of Marinette's bead.

"Who, Adrien? I think you're worrying a little too much, Tikki."

"It's almost like when Chat Noir disappeared."

Tikki tapped her chin, but whatever she was thinking, she didn't say it.

"Speaking of which," Marinette said, "Paris seems awfully peaceful today."

That phrase must have been jinxed, because just then, police cars started to blare out through the streets. Marinette ran to her window and looked outside - there were cars all through the city, speeding down the winding streets of Paris, seeming to head nowhere in particular.

And that's when Marinette saw why. Something gold kept streaking through the city, one second there, another second somewhere else. It was obviously traveling extremely fast, and Marinette was certain that it was yet another akumanized villain.

"Come on, Tikki," Marinette said to her kwami as she turned away from the window. "Spots on!"

And the familiar transformation happened again, then Ladybug was out the door - or, rather, the window.

* * *

As she zipped across the tops of buildings, nowhere near as fast as the golden streak, of which was currently near the Eiffel Tower, then at City Hall, and - Marinette got dizzy from trying to follow it with her eyes.

"Where is that cat?" she murmured, and then a familiar dark figure stepped in front of her and raised his head, showing cat ears and twinkling green eyes.

"Right here," said Chat Noir. "Shall we get to work, m'lady?"

"Yes, what is that?" Ladybug asked, pointing - or trying to - at the zooming golden dot.

"Well, I don't think it'll stay still long enough for us to find out," Chat Noir replied, trying to follow it with his eyes, then shaking his head from dizziness.

"Unless we show that we're here, then it might talk to us," Ladybug replied, and threw her yo-yo across the street so that it caught on another building, then resumed her swinging through the city while Chat Noir followed.

Similar to the police cars, they didn't know exactly where they were going, but when the golden streak passed Ladybug, she yelled, "Over here!" and to her surprise, it stopped.

"Well, well, well," said a vibrating, energized voice. "Race you to the Eiffel Tower!"

"No - wait!" Ladybug called, but she realized it was no use. Chat Noir walked forward and stood next to her.

"Come on, my lady," he said. "We're not going to let Speedster down there take our confidence away, are we?"

I don't think anything can take away his confidence, Marinette thought as she watched her colleage start towards the Eiffel Tower.

As expected, 'Speedster' reached it first. He was running on the spot as he stood at the bottom of the tower, electricity crackling through his hair. He wore a tight golden suit with a matching mask and his shoes were obviously built for running.

"Hey, hey, slow down," Chat Noir called, leaning against the side of the Eiffel Tower. "Who are you? Nevermind, I'm calling you Speedster - what do you want?"

"To be the fastest man in town!" Speedster yelled, preparing to run again, but Ladybug held up her hand.

"I see you've already accomplished that," she said, "but do you have any evil motives?"

She knew what the answer was.

"Of course! I'm going to destroy all the other 'runners' in this town, who never thought I was good enough! But just look at me now." And he sped off, heading towards the running track.

Chat Noir turned to Ladybug. "Was that a necessary question, my lady? Of course he had evil motives -"

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Just trying to slow things down."

Chat Noir smiled. "Now you're talking my language. But I think we'll need to speed things up for this one…" And he started after Speedster, Ladybug behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Adrien/Chat Noir**_

Chat Noir was once again fighting with his beloved Ladybug, chasing down an extra fast akuma affected villain. And she had even made a pun! Maybe she was warming up to him…

But Chat Noir had to focus now, so he swung through the streets of Paris, chasing after the little gold dot as it zoomed towards the city's racing track. Cat Noir could pretty much guess Speedster's story; he must have been neglected from competing in a race, which got him angry, and resulted in him becoming the fastest man in Paris. Thanks again, Hawk Moth.

"You'll never catch me!" Speedster shouted, his voice vibrating throughout the city.

"They say that every time," Ladybug muttered.

When they arrived at the racing track, a large, circular shaped strip of dirt, Speedster finally stopped. He stared at the athletes who were currently doing push-ups at the other end of the ring, coached by a burly man blowing a whistle and yelling numbers. "That's him," Speedster whispered, and braced himself to run.

"Whoa, whoa!" Chat Noir shouted, jumping in front of Speedster, but was mowed down by sheer force - the golden dot was now racing towards the coach. He turned just in time to get a blow in the face, then was circled by the Speedster, who kept going faster and faster until a tornado started to form.

"Is this good enough for you?" Speedster yelled as the other racers jumped back in surprise; Ladybug led them to safety and then turned to face Speedster, but there was obviously nothing she could do without getting swept into the wind.

The coach's response couldn't be heard, and Chat Noir guessed that he was cowering in fear, obviously far from impressed at Speedster's skills. "How are we going to get him out?" Cat Noir asked Ladybug.

"I think that this calls for my special power," she replied, and then raised her hand, yelling, "Lucky Charm!"

Something long and skinny that matched Ladybug's costume fell into her hands; it looked like a tripwire. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she muttered.

While she thought it over, Cat Noir turned to the tornado that was growing larger and threatening to envelop them. "Hey, Speedster!" he yelled. "I think that's fast enough."

Finally, and to Chat Noir's great relief, the villain stopped; he probably wanted to see the look on the coach's face.

"Now who's the fastest?" Speedster spat at him.

"I-I remember you," the coach squeaked. "You're that boy who didn't make it on my team…"

"That's right!" Speedster retorted. "And now I'm the fastest man in Paris!"

"I've got it," Chat Noir heard Ladybug mutter, and then she strolled over to Speedster. "That's right," she said. "You are the fastest man in Paris. So… I was wondering if you wanted to do a little race."

"Of course!" Speedster replied, running on the spot and looking smug.

"Alright, but you're have to compete against Chat Noir."

"What? Me?" Chat Noir blurted, looking bewildered, but he caught Ladybug's eye - she had the look of trust me. "Oh, okay…"

"Great!" Speedster chuckled. "You're going down, little kitty…"

Chat Noir couldn't help but feel defensive. "Hey, cats are descended from cheetahs, which are the fastest animals in the world…"

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll need some time to set up everything, if that's alright with you?" She turned to Speedster.

"Take all the time in the world," Speedster replied. "It'll allow me to get some practice in."

Chat Noir knew that set up everything meant set up the trap, and he was curious to know what Ladybug was planning, but she didn't tell him; she got to work right away. He hoped that it didn't involve him getting wrapped up in it.

And so, Cat Noir followed Speedster's lead of doing pushups. He wasn't as fast as Speedster, obviously, who simply looked like a blur going up and down, but he was pretty athletic, too, thanks to being Chat Noir.

After about ten minutes, the race was ready to begin, and Chat Noir felt like he had trained, though he knew he was no match for Speedster. But, he decided, he might as well have a little fun with it, get a little practice in for future akuma attacks.

"On the count of three," Ladybug announced as Speedster and Cat Noir crouched at the starting line. "Ready? One…" Chat Noir's muscles tensed. "Two…" He was ready to go. "Three!"

And they were off, and Cat Noir felt like a complete idiot racing next to Speedster; the villain was already halfway down the track after Cat Noir took two steps. And then, he was at the finish line, hitting the ribbon that stretched across it - no, wait, it was Ladybug's lucky charm - and a cage fell on top of him. The tripwire had worked!

"What? What? What is this?" Speedster yelled, talking fast as he slammed against the metal bars of the cage.

"Haha!" Chat Noir yelled, running to the finish line, "Who's the winner now?"

"Noooooo!" Speedster yelled, just as Ladybug reached through the bars to grab something - a pin that was on the villain's costume; that must have been where the akuma was.

"No more evil doing for you," she said as she released her yoyo which caught the little purple butterfly, then turned it white and watched it fly away.

Speedster was back to normal; a scrawny young man with glasses, who didn't look anything like he could be an athlete, but then the coach walked over.

"Well, kid," said the coach. "I s'pose you can be on my team now."

"Really?" asked the former Speedster, looking up at the man.

The coach nodded and smiled.

"Well, then, that's settled," Ladybug said before joining up with Chat Noir.

"You did great," he said.

She smiled, which made Chat Noir's heart flutter. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Ah, cliche," Chat Noir replied, and as he gazed into her eyes, he wondered something - should he tell Ladybug how he felt about her now? That he was really in deep love -

But then his ring flashed, and he knew that it was only seconds before he turned back; waving, he raced away from the love of his life, and into an alley so that he turned back into Adrien.

He sighed, knowing that his chance had been blown; he'd try another time. But right then, he had to go home and face his father, of whom he had severely disobeyed.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Marinette/Ladybug**_

The next day, Adrien was once again not at school, and this time, Alya practically forced her to do something about it. "Just ring the doorbell and tell the butler or whatever that you want to see Adrien, so that you can make sure he's okay!"

Marinette was blushing furiously. "And what, bring him flowers?"

"Well, if you want to be really romantic -"

"And his house is huge, full of haughty people!" Marinette retorted. "I doubt they'd let someone like me inside."

"Yes, but if Adrien wants to see you…"

So, it seemed, it all came to that. Did Adrien really want to see Marinette? Would he be happy that he visited her, or just creeped out? Maybe he was staying home for a personal reason…?

But Marinette also knew that if this love was going to go through, she needed to be stronger. She was Ladybug, for god's sake, she could do lots of things! _But maybe confronting boys isn't one of them_ , said a voice in her head.

 _No_ , she replied. _I should do this_.

And so, she took her best friend's advice. That lunch hour, she would walk over to the Agreste mansion, knock on the door, and ask to see Adrien.

After she had decided this, the day seemed to go by annoyingly fast. Before she knew it, she was leaving the school and heading down the sidewalk, right until she was at Adrien's front gates.

They towered over her, and she remembered in her last visit (when she had delivered a birthday present to Adrien, but that was much less unnerving) that a small black camera would come out of the wall and scan her. Sure enough, it did, and the voice asked, "Who's there?"

"M-Marinette," the girl replied. "I'm in Adrien's class."

The security camera slowly moved back into the wall, and the iron gates opened, allowing Marinette to walk up the front pathway until she reached the door.

Now butterflies, or perhaps ladybugs, were encasing her stomach and threatening to come out. With a shaking hand, Marinette rang the doorbell.

A woman with a tight bun and wide glasses opened the door, saying, "Hello. Can I help you?"

"Um… Adrien wasn't at school for quite some time, I was wondering if I could, er, see him?" Marinette managed to ask.

"Ah, yes, hmm… right this way." She opened the front door and led Marinette inside, and the girl noticed that she looked a little nervous.

They climbed up the grand marble staircase that started in the entrance hall, turning into another corridor on the second floor and walking for what felt like miles, of when Marinette's heart threatened to beat out of her chest, until they reached a door at the end. Engraved on the surface in gold letters, it read, _Adrien_.

 _This is it_ , thought Marinette.

But Natalie turned away, still looking nervous, and said, "You… you can go in when you're ready, and call me if you need me." Then she stalked off, quite stiffly.

Marinette turned back to the door and exhaled. Well, at least she would have more time to think this through, what to say to Adrien when she entered… and then she heard it.

" _What_ is that? Can you explain that?" said an angry man's voice, and Marinette recognized it as Mr. Agreste, the famous fashion designer and also Adrien's father.

Adrien stuttered a reply, "I… I was just so desperate to get out of here, Father -"

"I don't know what you did, but this is unacceptable! Things _will_ get worse."

Marinette, with increasing horror, wondered what Mr. Agreste was talking about, what Adrien had done. And what did he mean by, "I was so desperate to get out of here"? Was Mr. Agreste keeping his son locked in his room? She knew that he was strict with him, but that was just horrible…

Then the door opened and Marinette dove to the side, hiding behind a potted plant. She could hear Adrien shuffling around inside, wondering if this was a bad time to enter. He might be in a bad mood right then, or he might be eager to see someone…

But then Marinette worried that if Mr. Agreste caught her talking to his son, he'd do something - perhaps never let Adrien see Marinette again. She couldn't risk that, so she started back down the hallway, down floors and through corridors, not even knowing where she was going, until she ended up outside.

Panting, she looked up at the big house, which started to look a little too intimidating. _No, I couldn't have talked to Adrien now_ , Marinette thought as she started to head back to her parents' bakery.

As she walked at a slower pace, the mix of what she had heard started to come together, and she thought it through. If Mr. Agreste really was keeping his son locked up, then that would explain why Adrien hadn't been at school. And obviously, Adrien had tried to escape…

A pang of pity for her crush fluttered in Marinette's chest, and she felt like she should do something, that Mr. Agreste's "parenting" was downright cruelty. But at the same time, she knew that Adrien's father was extremely famous, which probably wouldn't help solve the case… was she worrying about it more than she had to?

"Hey," said a small voice, and Marinette looked down at Tikki, forgetting that her kwami was there.

"Oh, sorry, Tikki…"

"Are you okay? Do you want to talk about what happened?"

"I've got to tell Alya…" That was Marinette's first decision. She consulted her best friend for everything - well, except for being Ladybug, of course. And of course Alya would want to keep up with news about Adrien.

So Marinette quickened her pace back home and was soon pushing through the sweet-smelling bakery, of which could not even slow her down then. She ran up to her room and started to phone her friend.

"I think that Mr. Agreste is mean," said Tikki as she floated around Marinette's bedroom. "He shouldn't keep Adrien locked up!"

"I know," Marinette replied as she waited for her best friend to pick up. "And I doubt Adrien even did anything. His father is just extremely strict."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know…" But just then, Alya picked up.

"Hey, Marinette! What's up?"

And right away, Marinette launched into conversation about what she had seen, leaving Alya silent until it was all over.

"That's awful… Should we do something?"

And once again, with a sigh, Marinette answered, "I don't know."

 **Hey, sorry if I haven't been posting that fast lately, but I've just been really busy. Did you catch the newest Miraculous Ladybug episode in English, Darkblade? It was great! Anyway, keep reading, and please review! - Key**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Adrien/Chat Noir**_

Adrien paced back and forth, running his hands through his hair. He still couldn't believe that his father had seen the hole in the wall, which was the mark of Chat Noir, but he just kept praying that his father wouldn't make the connection. However, he seemed too angry to do so, which relieved Adrien a lot.

Plagg was hovering at the window, watching the boy, with an unusually emotional expression on his tiny face. "That was close, Plagg," said Adrien. "Too close."

"What are you going to do?" Plagg replied.

"I don't know. If I go out again, my father is going to get _really_ angry, but if I don't, Ladybug will be all alone."

"I'm… I'm sure she'll understand."

"But I promised her, Plagg! I promised her that I'd be there next time." Adrien sighed and clenched his fists. "She's more important."

Plagg couldn't help but grin. "Aww, true love."

Adrien rolled his eyes then took a seat on his desk chair. He guessed that he'd be stuck in his room for a while, at least until there was more danger and he could transform into Chat Noir. He would have to use cataclysm again, because Mr. Agreste had already patched up the broken chunk of wall. And that would lead to him knowing that Adrien had left the house once again. But the blonde-haired boy just had to do it.

"Got any cheese?" Plagg suddenly said. "I'm hungry."

"I wonder if Natalie will come if I call her," Adrien said. He walked over to the little button next to the door, pressed it, then yelled into the speaker, "Natalie! Can you come here?"

In the next moment, he could hear the click-clacking of heels coming toward his bedroom. Then Natalie came through, shifting her glasses as if she was nervous. "Y-Yes, Adrien?"

"Can I have some food? A lot of cheese?"

"I…" Natalie didn't seem to know what to do. Adrien guessed that she wasn't supposed to do anything on his orders, but he and his kwami had to eat! Then she nodded. "Of course."

As she disappeared back down the hallway, unfortunately not forgetting to lock the door behind her, Adrien turned to Plagg. "That worked."

* * *

Minutes later, they were munching away; Adrien found that he was pretty hungry - stress eating, perhaps, but the food tasted delicious. All the while, he watched the window, waiting for an explosion or some sign of another akumanized villain.

When Plagg had finally finished eating (long after Adrien) and his master was pacing the room, he asked, "So, are you really going to risk turning into Chat Noir and getting into trouble?"

Adrien stopped pacing and turned to his kwami. "Of course, Plagg. You know how important Ladybug is to me!"

"But you've always wanted to impress your father."

Adrien was silent for a moment, admitting to himself that Plagg had a point. "Not if my father is like this. I love Ladybug."

Just then, before Plagg could giggle a reply, the ground shook. There was screaming in the distance and the sounds of cars swerving on the polished roads. Adrien's heart lurched; he knew that feeling. What he was waiting for had finally happened.

"Plagg, claws out!" he yelled, and after just filling up on food, his kwami wasn't hesitant. Seconds later, Chat Noir was standing in the room, ready to join the love of his life and defeat whatever enemy threatened Paris.

After shouting "Cataclysm!" he ripped open the wall and was about to jump through when the door opened, making his heart stop.

Whoever saw him there now knew his secret.

"Chat Noir!" It was Mr. Agreste, exactly the person that the superhero was hoping not to hear.

 _I'll try to play it cool_ , Chat Noir told himself, and turned around, looking serious. "Sir, I have to leave, Paris is -"

"In danger, yes," Mr. Agreste replied, his voice almost a sneer. "Especially now that I've caught you."

"P-Pardon me?" Chat Noir replied, not believing what he had heard.

"Don't you know who I am, you foolish boy?" Mr. Agreste continued. "Well, either way, now I know who _you_ are."

And before Chat Noir could react, even though he was still confused, something hit him on his head and everything went black.

 **I agree that this was a short chapter, but I needed to make it a cliffhanger. EVIL, RIGHT? Btw, I started watching Fairy Tail, and it is AMAZING. Expect some more fanfiction from me. ;) - Key**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Marinette/Ladybug**_

Another akuma attack? Expected.

Marinette had been peacefully sitting in her room, writing in her diary about what she had seen at the Agreste mansion. She still couldn't get it out of her head. But just as she was finished, the floor shook, followed by screams outside. It could have been an earthquake, but the residents of Paris knew better - it was another villain that their superheroes Ladybug and Chat Noir would have to defeat.

"I wonder who it'll be this time, Tikki," Marinette said to her kwami as she got up. "Spots on!"

Soon, Ladybug was climbing out the window and releasing her spotted yo-yo so that she could swing through the buildings. As she did, she heard a sudden roar in the distance - it didn't sound like the roar of someone being angry, but rather the roar of a monster. Ladybug was reminded of Horrificator, another akumanized villain she and Chat Noir had to fight a couple weeks back, one that was supposed to scare its enemies.

But then she noticed something on the edges of buildings - green slime, sticky and plastic-smelling. As the monster roared again, she looked ahead and saw what had caused the slime. A giant green blob was slithering through the streets, heading toward the park at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower.

"What the…" Ladybug didn't have time to question what the monster was, but she knew that she had to stop it, so she picked up her pace and followed the moving blob.

Tourists screamed and ran out of the way when they saw the monster, and it only roared again in reply, covering everything in slime. Then Ladybug noticed something else - there were things inside the blob's body; broken hot dog stands, signs, and benches, all suspended in the slime. As Ladybug watched, the more the slimeball collected, the bigger it grew.

"Huh, I'm going to call this one Greedy Green," Ladybug whispered to herself, as she doubted the monster could tell her its name.

She swung over to the Eiffel Tower and perched on one of its balconies. The blob noticed this and looked up, roaring more loudly than ever and spitting slime in all directions. Ladybug wiped some off her suit, then wondered to herself, _Where's Chat Noir?_

She would be furious if he didn't show up; lately, she had started to notice that the akumas were getting stronger and stronger, and that she would need his help every time if she wanted to defeat them. But now he was late again, or maybe he wouldn't come at all.

But he had promised! And she doubted that Chat Noir would ever break his promises, for she had known him for quite some time, and he had always been helpful. Unless there was something going on with him…

A big ball of slime suddenly hurtled toward her, but Ladybug had quick reflexes - she jumped out of the way and higher onto the Eiffel Tower. Greedy Green roared again.

She decided that she had to face it, so she jumped down from the tower and stopped in front of it. Using her yo-yo, she threw it around the monster, hoping to squeeze it, but it only sunk under Greedy Green's slimy skin. In fact, the pull was quite strong, and before Ladybug knew it, her yo-yo had joined the many other objects in the slimeball's stomach.

"Okay, now I'm weaponless," she whispered to herself, really wishing that Paris's other suphero was there at the moment. "Oh, come on, Chat…"

Greedy Green advanced, its mouth open and dripping with slime, and Ladybug dived away to hide behind a bush. But she knew that she couldn't stay there for long; Greedy Green was simply destroying everything in its path, not carefully looking where she might be. And in the next moment, it had eaten the bush concealing her, too.

It roared with glee but Ladybug ran away, wishing that she still had her yo-yo. She continuously threw objects at Greedy Green, hoping for one of them to be too big for him to eat, but now he was huge, and had gobbled up everything so far. She wasn't sure how she'd get out of this one.

There was only one thing left, her Lucky Charm, and that always seemed to work. But before she could summon it, Greedy Green spat something at her - a _giant_ ball of slime - and Ladybug couldn't get away fast enough. It pinned her to the ground, and as she struggled in its grip, the monster advanced towards her, hungry. Would it eat her? She closed her eyes as it leaned close, hoping that it wasn't the end; she felt herself being encased in more slime, the world going slightly dark, and then completely black.

* * *

When she woke up, she was in a dark room. The air smelled musty and stale. Her body was sore, and felt wet; she realized she was still covered in slime. The previous events then came flooding back to her, and she guessed that she really _had_ gotten eaten by Greedy Green. But where was she now?

She tried to move her arms, and felt the clink of chains. _Great_. Now wherever she was, she was stuck.

She realized that her mouth was the only thing that could move. "Hello?" she called into the darkness, and to her shock, there was an answering moan.

"Who's there?" she prompted.

"Mmm… Ladybug?" asked the voice.

Ladybug's heart leapt. "Chat Noir?"

"Yes, it's me, m'lady…"

"Where are we?"

" _I_ can answer that," rumbled a deep voice. Someone stepped out of the shadows, and candles flickered to life, revealing a man in a deep purple suit and silver mask, holding a cane. He had a smug expression as he looked down at Ladybug and Chat Noir, sprawled on the floor.

"H-Hawkmoth?" Somehow, Ladybug knew who this was - the man who had sent all the akumas that attacked her, Chat Noir, and the residents of Paris.

"That's right, Ladybug… and I've finally caught you…"

Ladybug couldn't believe this. How had she gotten herself captured? How could she not have been more careful? And Chat Noir, she should have known that the only reason that he hadn't shown up to battle was because Hawkmoth had gotten him first…

"Wait," Chat suddenly said. "The last thing I remember was my father… he knocked me out… and then I woke up here, but how can that be -?"

"Use your brain, Chat Noir," Hawkmoth responded, rather rudely. "Anyway, I'm ready to take what I've been wanting for so long… your miraculouses, if you please…"

"Yeah, dream on, Butterfly," Chat Noir responded.

Hawkmoth's face darkened. "As you can see, _Kitty_ , you are unable to do anything because you are chained up. So, that allows me to have the ultimate power… oh, would you look at that, your miraculouses are running out of battery, anyway."

Indeed, Ladybug heard a _beep_ , and new that a spot had appeared on her earring, indicating that it needed to charge up. But if Hawkmoth got her and Chat Noir's miraculouses, what would happen next? How would they escape?

"I think it is time that I go through with my plan," Hawkmoth drawled, "and time that you know each other's secret identities."

Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged looks. Truly, they had been both extremely desperate to know each other's true selves, but now it was about to happen in a way that they both never dreamed of. Ladybug's miraculous beeped again. It was only seconds now…

Hawkmoth grinned in the candlelight, making his face look even more evil… _beep_ … "Finally," he whispered, and then it was over, there was a flash of light and Ladybug's true self was revealed. She took a deep breath, her heart beating so fast she thought it would come out of her chest, then looked up to see who Chat Noir was.

And her mouth dropped.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Adrien/Chat Noir**_

No, it couldn't have been… That was impossible… But Adrien couldn't stop staring at Ladybug's true self, the girl under the mask, the person that he had fallen in love with.

He just couldn't believe that she was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a girl who went to his school, who was in his class.

Perhaps he had been expecting someone completely different, but he soon began to realize how similar him and Marinette were - she pretty much had the same life as he did, had to deal with homework, friends, and teachers. But most of all, she had to hide an identity that no one else knew about.

She stared at him, open-mouthed, and he found himself gazing into those dark blue eyes, the ones that were identical to Ladybug's. _Yes_ , it was truly her… and he was truly in love.

"A-Adrien?" Marinette croaked. "You… how -"

"Guess we're not so different after all," Adrien managed to say, but it came out as a sort of squeak.

"Well, well, isn't this nice," interrupted Hawkmoth with his oily voice, and Adrien noticed that the man was frowning at him. "And while you were in your little trance, I stole your miraculouses."

With both hands, he held up two squiggling figures - Plagg and Marinette's kwami, a ladybug, which made both their owners gasp. Adrien momentarily forgot the shock of discovering who Ladybug really was, and thought to himself, _How could I have been so foolish, letting Hawkmoth get Plagg?_

In fact, this whole scenario was foolish. If Adrien hadn't gotten himself captured, then perhaps he'd be able to prevent Marinette from getting captured, too. Then they wouldn't have to deal with stolen kwamis, and…

… and they wouldn't have discovered each other's' true identities.

But that didn't matter. Adrien simply had to get out of this, had to protect Marinette, had to be the hero even if he wasn't Chat Noir right then. He struggled against his chains and yelled, "Let Plagg go!" Marinette did the same thing, yelling her kwami's name, Tikki, but it obviously wouldn't work; perhaps they needed more time to make a plan. As of then, it didn't seem like Tikki or Plagg would be escaping anytime soon.

"Useless, really," snarled Hawkmoth, starting toward the door of the cell-like room. "You'll need to do better than that in order to stop me. _Au revoir_ for now, though - I'm going to put my plan into action."

And the door closed behind him, the lock clicking into place.

Adrien just found himself staring after Hawkmoth, unable to move or say anything. He had a growing suspicion in his gut that he'd muse over later; right then, he turned to Marinette and looked her in the eye. She still looked overcome with surprise.

"I… I can't believe it's you," she said. "All this time, Adrien…"

"I feel the same way," Adrien agreed. "We were both right under each other's noses."

And for a moment, they smiled at each other; it all seemed so ridiculous.

"Well, I guess we aren't the most observant superheroes," Marinette giggled. "But anyway, what now?"

Adrien thought for a moment, then decided to tell Marinette about his suspicion. She was the only other person there, after all, and he felt that he had to share it with someone - especially someone like Ladybug, whom he knEw he trusted with his life.

"I've been wondering," Adrien said, "When I was knocked out before I woke up here, it was by my father. I was actually ready to jump out of the window as Chat Noir, because I just heard the police sirens, when he came in. And then I woke up here. But why? What happened?"

"That _is_ strange," Marinette replied. "Maybe Hawkmoth somehow got to him, and then you?"

"Well, then, I hope he's alright!"

There was a moment of silence while Adrien mentally panicked. Even though his father barely ever payed any attention to him, Adrien still loved him and wouldn't want anything to happen to him. But just then, Marinette said something that made a chill go up Adrien's spine.

"You… you don't think… that your father's actually Hawkmoth?"

Now that Adrien thought about it, Hawkmoth did kind of look and act like his father. There was something about the villain that had always felt familiar, and Adrien never understood why. But he still couldn't bring himself to believing that it was true, for his father was a rich fashion designer, so why would he turn evil? _He's always been cold_ , said a voice in Adrien's head.

Adrien felt like he needed proof. He prompted Marinette with this.

"Adrien… Look." Her eyes darted to the bottom of his shoe.

As he looked down, wondering what in the world she could be talking about, he noticed it. The shoes that Adrien was wearing were made by his father's company, and had two dark butterflies stuck to their soles. He started panting rapidly.

"No… i-it can't -"

"I'm sorry, Adrien."

Marinette's voice somehow made this more bearable. Knowing that she was there, that no matter what happened she would support him, was what got him through. He took a deep breath and straightened, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Look, whatever the case is, whatever happens, we're going to find a way out of here. I… I can't take this anymore. We need to find our kwamis and stop Hawkmoth before he takes over Paris."

There was a brave look on Marinette's face, the one that Ladybug always wore, and that Chat Noir always admired. His heart did a little flip, but he knew that he'd deal with his feelings later. Right then, defeating Hawkmoth was most important.

"We should have known that this was coming," Marinette said. "We're Ladybug and Chat Noir, the saviours of Paris, and it's our duty to save everyone."

Adrien nodded. His body flickered with a kind of inner energy, and he felt that he was Chat Noir right then, even though his ring wasn't activated. But true superheroes came on the inside, of their bravery, their courage, their cleverness. And he was ready to do what he had been training for, ready to stop the person who had sent all the akumas which had caused the attacks.

Even if he was his father.

 **Enjoying so far? Yes, I am all for the theory of Hawkmoth being Adrien's father, because it makes so much sense. And get excited, because the next chapter is going to be an action-packed one.**

 **\- Key**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Marinette/Ladybug**_

Marinette yanked on her chains, muttering to herself as she tried to break free, but she knew all the while that she wasn't really focusing, that there were insistent thoughts still streaming through her head. Her crush, the boy who she had missed so much when he hadn't been present at school (she decided to interrogate him about that later) was actually Chat Noir, Paris's other superhero of whom she worked with every day. How could that be? Where was it written in the universe that this could ever be possible?

But after Adrien started to talk, after he described his suspicion about his father and after Marinette suggested something that was most likely true, her emotions towards Adrien mixed with those of Chat Noir, and she finally accepted that she was talking to the same person, one of which she was super shy to and the other she was extremely confident. She also reminded herself that Adrien knew he was talking to Ladybug, the girl that he knew so well, not so much the seemingly invisible Marinette.

But as she struggled against her bonds, she felt that it was a time to think everything through, to continue to revel over the thought of spending so much time with Adrien - er, Chat Noir, whichever - and that they knew each other so well. An inner voice, however (and a very practical one), reminded her that she needed to get out of captivity, and at that time she needed to be Ladybug, even though she wasn't wearing her miraculous.

 _Ladybug. I'm still Ladybug._

And worry about Tikki washed over her; she knew that she had to save her kwami, so she yanked and thrashed again, but Adrien told her that it was no use. "You're right," she mumbled. "What are we going to do?"

"Come on," Adrien replied. "We shouldn't just depend on our powers. We're still Ladybug and Chat Noir, we're smart -"

Marinette couldn't help but smile. That sounded an awful lot like Chat Noir. As she relaxed, her hands brushed against something, and her eyes widened. "Wait," she said. "My purse!"

"You have it?" Adrien asked hopefully.

"Yes, I never leave the house without it, in case I have to transform into Ladybug."

"And do you have anything useful in it?"

"Let me think…" Then she remembered, though it had been a couple of weeks ago. "That's it! I've got a button that I designed for my campaign to be student council rep… it should be in here somewhere, if I can just…"

Marinette now shifted her wrists, trying to rummage around in her purse until she found what she was looking for. It took a couple of minutes, which felt like forever, and she kept her tongue in between her teeth before she grabbed the familiar metal surface… "Aha!" she cheered. "I've got it!"

"Well, we'll call it our lucky charm, Bugaboo," said Adrien.

Marinette looked up into those green eyes, of which currently seemed to be laughing, and though she normally would have scolded Chat Noir for saying such a silly thing, she felt love fill her heart before smiling and turning away gingerly.

She started to fidget with the button, and was happy that her wrists weren't bound together, but simply to the floor, which allowed her to have some space to move. It also allowed her to reach the lock at the end of her chains, and struggle with the sharp pin on the end of the button. _Come on_ , she whispered to herself as she moved the pin around in the lock, waiting for the insistent click, and then finally she heard it. The chains fell to the floor in a heap and Marinette got up, relieved, rubbing her wrists.

"Yes, Marinette, you are the best," Adrien chanted as she walked over to him, using the same technique to break his chains.

"Come on, Kittycat. Let's get out of here and find Hawkmoth."

And so, they raced toward the door (which was, thankfully, open; Hawkmoth must have thought the chains would be enough) and stepped through, then down the long hallway and toward nowhere in particular. They simply raced along, Marinette taking in all the details of the dimly-lit corridor. "Where are we?" she asked.

Adrien shook his head. "Some abandoned warehouse, I think, but I don't know which."

Then they saw it.

On a passing door, it read in thick black letters, _Agreste Design_. Over that, obviously spray-painted, was a purple butterfly - the logo of Hawkmoth. Marinette felt her heart sink. So her theory was true. Hawkmoth _was_ Adrien's father.

His son sighed. "I can't believe this."

Marinette put a hand on his shoulder, which made her heart flutter like crazy, but she ignored it. "It's okay. We're in this together."

Adrien smiled weakly at Marinette, and she felt her heart do another somersault, then the two raced off once again.

"Where could he be?" Marinette wanted to know, but it wasn't long before they reached it. At the end of the hallway were two oak double-doors, and when Marinette and Adrien wrenched them open, it admitted them onto a balcony. The room that they entered was huge but obviously broken-down, with once beautiful but now burnt-out lightbulbs hanging from the tall ceiling, crumbling decorations here and there, and a balcony that wrapped around the entire room. Marinette and Adrien looked down on a frozen assembly line, half of the conveyor belts and controls cracked. But they were all branded _Agreste Design_.

"This must have been one of my father's factories," Adrien said. "And it must have broken down several years ago."

"It's… creepy," was all Marinette could say. And then she heard it - distant cackling, then the soft pad of footsteps. Marinette and Adrien dived behind one of the withering plants that flanked the doorway, then looked out over carefully.

Hawkmoth was down below, walking amidst the conveyor belts, and he had two jars in his hands. Marinette realized that they contained her and Adrien's miraculouses, of which looked worried but determined. They banged their little fists on the glass and screamed, but couldn't be heard.

Hawkmoth laughed again. "There's no use yelling, little kwamis. Soon, you won't have the power to do anything, let alone yell. My contraption is almost complete."

"Contraption?" Marinette whispered to herself, and followed Hawkmoth's gaze - he was looking at two little jars that connected to a large machine behind them by countless wires. It looked incomplete, but not by much - Marinette guessed that the kwamis would go into the jars, and the machine would suck out their powers… after all, that was what Hawkmoth had wanted for so long. Marinette gulped. They had to act fast.

Adrien seemed to be thinking the same thing, too, and his body was tensed as if ready to spring. "Wait," Marinette told him. "We need a distraction."

They both looked around, thinking of what they could possibly do, when Marinette saw it - the fire alarm. If she pulled it, it would definitely cause Hawkmoth to go see what was going on, which would allow her and Adrien to sneak downstairs and free their kwamis.

Slowly and quietly, though Hawkmoth wasn't looking over the balcony, Marinette slunked down the hall and placed her hand on the red handle, taking a deep breath before she pulled it down. _BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_ Alarms blared around the ceiling, and Hawkmoth looked up. Marinette heard him mutter something under his breath before he walked away, not forgetting to set down the kwamis carelessly on an unmoving conveyor belt.

She turned to Adrien and nodded. Now was the time to finally turn into Ladybug and Chat Noir and deal with Hawkmoth.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Adrien/Chat Noir**_

It was time to power up again, and Adrien was more than ready. He and Marinette scrambled down the stairs that led off of the balcony and onto the lower level. Adrien still couldn't believe that they were in one of his father's old workplaces, let alone his father was Hawkmoth. But he had to concentrate and do what he had to.

When the kwamis saw Marinette and Adrien approaching, they squealed and twirled around in their jars. "Adrien!" Plagg exclaimed when his owner reached him. "Hawkmoth, he's going to -"

"I know," Adrien replied. "We're getting you out of here."

"Wait," Tikki whispered, looking back and forth between Marinette and Adrien. "You… you guys -"

"Yes, and it came as quite a shock," Marinette told her, "but we've got to act fast now. Spots on, Tikki!"

And Adrien watched as the transformation happened. Though Marinette had just been there, seconds later stood Ladybug, as beautiful as ever in her bright red costume. She smiled at Adrien, and he got out of his trance - soon he was Chat Noir, standing next to his partner.

"Ah, this feels good," Adrien said, flexing his cat claws.

"Come on," Ladybug said. "Hawkmoth is going to -"

"Well, look who it is," sneered a voice from the other end of the room. Hawkmoth entered, looking more sinister than ever with his face half-hidden in the shadows. "My two resourceful little captives."

"It's over, Hawkmoth," Ladybug snapped, clenching her fists. "We got our kwamis back, and your machine isn't even ready."

"So you heard my plan, did you?" Hawkmoth snarled. "Well, it doesn't matter. Once I capture you again, I'll have time to complete it."

"Wait," Chat Noir said. There was something nagging at him; he just had to find out of Hawkmoth really was his father, if it was all true, if it could be possible… "Who are you?"

Hawkmoth froze. "As if I'd reveal my true identity to you, Chat Noir."

"You know who I am," Chat Noir retorted. "And I saw my father knock me out before I woke up here. We're at an old factory for Agreste Design. Tell me you are who I think you are."

There was a moment, where Hawkmoth seemed completely at a loss for words, then he straightened. "Never. We fight, that's all."

Chat Noir didn't say anything. He wanted to know the truth, but right now, he, Ladybug, and probably the citizens of Paris too, were in danger. He'd have to face the thought of his father later. Then Ladybug stepped forward.

"When we defeat you," she said to Hawkmoth, "We'll know who you are."

Hawkmoth's voice was a low growl. "Fine by me."

And so, the battle began. Chat Noir and Ladybug lunged, attempting to tackle Hawkmoth to the floor, but the man was fast. He whipped out the cane that he always carried and smacked the superheroes aside. But Chat Noir nor Ladybug was going to be fazed by that. They tried a different approach.

Chat Noir hopped onto the balcony while Ladybug battled Hawkmoth underneath. She was swift, and rather beautiful, shifting here and there while Hawkmoth tried to beat her. She caught Chat Noir's eye and nodded, indicating for him to jump.

He did, landing on top of Hawkmoth. The man yelled, "Argh!" then turned it into a laugh. "You seriously think you can defeat me like that, little kitty?"

"Cats eat butterflies, you know." And he scratched Hawkmoth in the eye.

The man staggered backward, ripping at his face, but not much damage was done, except for a new scar that ran across the side of his face. Ladybug took the opportunity to release her yoyo and wrap it around Hawkmoth, pulling him to the ground. Chat Noir walked forward and placed a foot on the man's back.

"Surrender now," he hissed, a lot like a cat.

But Hawkmoth didn't reply, and just when it started to get eerie, the door burst open. In came a swarm of a thousand butterflies, all programmed to rip Ladybug and Chat Noir to shreds. The superheroes swatted at them, but there were so many that it was impossible to see, which allowed Hawkmoth to escape out of a side door.

"Chat!" Ladybug called, who noticed this first. "He's gone!"

Chat Noir looked around and spotted the door, slowly starting to inch toward it before he was overcome with fluttering wings. "I can't go after him. There's too many butterflies!"

"I wish I had a swarm of ladybugs," Ladybug muttered.

They batted and swatted, putting as much force as they could into their strikes. The butterflies easily went down, but more kept coming. Ladybug and Chat Noir fought side by side, as hard as they could, sweat beading their foreheads, until every last butterfly was finally lying limp on the ground.

Ladybug collapsed, panting. "He… He's gone."

"I know," Chat Noir replied, sitting down as well. "But he'll be back. As for now, let's get out of here."

"But we can't just -"

"Hawkmoth knows that we know where his base is," Chat Noir said, indicating the old factory. "He'll move somewhere else, maybe even take a break from sending out akumas, though I doubt it."

"But what if he is your father?" asked Ladybug. "Then what are you going to do?"

"If he really is my father, he won't come home," Chat Noir sighed. Then he thought about it. "Well, then, I guess I'll know the truth by tonight."

Ladybug nodded. "We'll need to protect our kwamis more carefully now. And ourselves, now that Hawkmoth knows who we are."

"Well, then, I guess we have more adventures to come." Just then, Chat Noir's ring went _BEEP_. He remembered that Plagg hadn't had food in a while.

Ladybug's earring did the same thing. "I guess we don't have to hide when we transform back now," she said.

Chat Noir nodded just before the transformations happened. In the next second, there stood Marinette and Adrien, sitting on the floor. Adrien smiled at his partner and pulled her to his feet.

She blushed. "Well, then, I guess this is goodbye for now…"

"Get ready, because we're going to be meeting again, and I feel like it's going to be pretty soon."

"For what?" Plagg asked. He and Tikki were resting on the floor.

"The big fight with Hawkmoth," Marinette and Adrien said at the same time.

"I think I'll need some food first."

Marinette and Adrien laughed, then looked at each other. "One more thing," Marinette said. She leaned over and kissed Adrien on the cheek.

His eyes widened and his face grew hot. He saw that she was blushing, too.

"Until next time, Chat Noir," she said before putting Tikki in her purse and dashing out of the room.

Adrien stood there, touching his cheek. "She just… Ladybug…"

"Come on, Romeo," Plagg said, rolling his eyes. "Let's go home."

 **THE END**

 **Was that a good ending? I didn't want to officially defeat Hawkmoth, because I was going to leave that for the show. And as for Marinette and Adrien's little peck-on-the-cheek, I didn't want to make them kiss for real until they defeated Hawkmoth.**

 **I wanted to thank all my followers, favourers, readers and reviewers. Please review to tell me what you think!**

 **\- Key of Magic**


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